# mild
## English
### Alternative forms

* milde (obsolete)

### Etymology

From Middle English milde, from Old English milde (“mild”), from Proto-Germanic *mildijaz (“mild”), from Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- (“to beat, pound, grind”).
Cognate with Scots mild, myld (“mild”), Saterland Frisian milde (“mild”), West Frisian myld (“mild”), Dutch mild (“mild”), Low German milde (“mild”), German mild (“mild”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian Bokmål mild (“mild”), Icelandic mildur (“mild”), Latin mollis (“soft, gentle”), Lithuanian malonus (“pleasing, pleasant, kind”), Old Norse mildr.

### Pronunciation

* enPR: mīld IPA: /ˈmaɪld/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -aɪld

### Adjective

mild (comparative milder, superlative mildest)
* Gentle and not easily angered.
    a mild man
* (of a rule or punishment) Of only moderate severity; not strict.
    He received a mild sentence.
* Not overly felt or seriously intended.
** 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:I corralled the judge, and we started off across the fields, in no very mild state of fear of that gentleman's wife, whose vigilance was seldom relaxed. And thus we came by a circuitous route to Mohair, the judge occupied by his own guilty thoughts, and I by others not less disturbing.
* (of an illness or pain) Not serious or dangerous.
** 2002, Rachel Simon, Riding the Bus with My Sister: A True Life Journey:I learn that mental retardation is classified in four levels: mild, moderate, severe, and profound.
** 2003, Janice A. Gault, Ophthalmology Pearls:NPDR can be further classified as mild, moderate, severe, or very severe, which can help predict how quickly the patient may progress to proliferative (neovascular) diabetic retinopathy (PDR).
* (of weather) Moderately warm, especially less cold than expected.
    a mild day
    mild weather
* (of a medicine or cosmetic) Acting gently and without causing harm.
    a mild anaesthetic
* (of food, drink, or a drug) Not sharp or bitter; not strong in flavor.
    a mild curry

#### Synonyms

* soft, gentle, bland, calm, tranquil, soothing, pleasant, placid, meek, kind, tender, indulgent, clement, mollifying, lenitive, assuasive
* See also Thesaurus:intermediate

#### Antonyms

* strong
* harsh, severe, irritating, violent, disagreeable

#### Derived terms

* amnestic mild cognitive impairment
* draw it mild
* mild as milk
* mildly
* mild-mannered
* mildness
* mild steel

#### Translations
### Noun

mild (plural milds)
* (British) A relatively low-gravity beer, often with a dark colour; mild ale
** 1998, Robert Rankin, The Dance of the Voodoo Handbag, page 112:'Let me get this for the lady,' I said to Fange, who was pulling her a pint of mild.
** 2011, Pete Brown, Three Sheets to the Wind:But Stella shouldn't really be drunk in pints the same way our dads used to drink bitter or mild that was effectively half as strong.

#### Derived terms

* mild and bitter

### Further reading

* “mild”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
* “mild”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
* “mild”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

## Danish
### Etymology

From Old Norse mildr.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /mil/, [milˀ]

### Adjective

mild
* mild, gentle, soft
* light, lenient

#### Inflection

$^1$ When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite, the corresponding "indefinite" form is used. $^2$ The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.

## Dutch
### Etymology

From Middle Dutch milde, from Old Dutch mildi, from Proto-Germanic *mildijaz.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /mɪlt/
* Audio:(file)
* Hyphenation: mild
* Rhymes: -ɪlt
* Homophones: milt, Milt

### Adjective

mild (comparative milder, superlative mildst)
* mild

#### Declension
## German
### Alternative forms

* milde (in the sense of merciful, otherwise archaic)

### Etymology

From Middle High German milte, from Old High German milti. The modern consonantism is Central and Low German; compare Middle Low German milde.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /mɪlt/
* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

mild (strong nominative masculine singular milder, comparative milder, superlative am mildesten)
* mild (in all of its common senses)

#### Declension
## Norwegian Bokmål
### Etymology

From Old Norse mildr.

### Adjective

mild (neuter singular mildt, definite singular and plural milde, comparative mildere, indefinite superlative mildest, definite superlative mildeste)
* mild, gentle, lenient

#### Derived terms

* formilde
* lattermild
* mildhet

### References

* “mild” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Etymology

From Old Norse mildr, from Proto-Germanic *mildijaz. Akin to English mild.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /mɪlː/, /mɪld/

### Adjective

mild (neuter mildt, definite singular and plural milde, comparative mildare, indefinite superlative mildast, definite superlative mildaste)
* mild
    I mai er det ofte mildt i veret.
       In May, the weather is often mild
* gentle
* lenient
    Dommeren gav han ei mild straff.The judge gave him a lenient punishment.

#### Derived terms

* formilde
* lattermild

### References

* “mild” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

## Saterland Frisian
### Etymology

From Old Frisian milde, from Proto-Germanic *mildijaz. More at mild.

### Adjective

mild
* mild; gentle

## Swedish
### Etymology

From Old Swedish milder, from Old Norse mildr, from Proto-Germanic *mildijaz, from Proto-Indo-European *meldʰ-.

### Pronunciation

* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

mild (comparative mildare, superlative mildast)
* mild
    en mild vintera mild winter
    mild citronsmakmild lemon flavor
    ett milt straffa mild punishment
    Det gick inte helt perfekt, milt uttrycktIt didn't go perfectly, to put it mildly ("mildly expressed")
** gentle
    en mild sommarbrisa gentle summer breeze
    en vänlig och mild mana kind and gentle man
** soft
    tapeter med milda färgerwallpaper with soft colors

#### Declension

$^1$ The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative. $^2$ Dated or archaic. $^3$ Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

#### Derived terms

* du milde
* givmild
* gråtmild
* milda makter
* milda tider
* mildhet
* mildväder
* mildögd
* omild
* så till den milda grad
* tårmild

#### Related terms

* mildra

### References

* mild in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
* mild in Svensk ordbok (SO)
* mild in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
* mild in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)
* milder in Knut Fredrik Söderwall, Ordbok öfver svenska medeltids-språket, del 2:1: M-T